An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂), but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”—“soft-soaping” or “buttering-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love to hear it? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who get so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But if we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣). They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless might.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.
【小题1】Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing”?

An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂),but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices ── just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing” ── “soft-soaping” or “butter-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise ── telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love or hear it ? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who gets so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers（朝臣）.They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless power.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.
【小题1】Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing” ?

An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂), but is close to it.

All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.

There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”—“soft-soaping” or “buttering-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.

Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love to hear it? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who get so little of it.

We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But if we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.

Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣). They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless might.

He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.

1.Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing”?

A．A boy tells his girlfriend how pretty she looks.

B．An employee tells her boss how good he is at management.

C．A knight is said to be of limitless power by his followers.

D．A teacher praises her students for their talent and wisdom.

2.What does the writer want to prove with Cromwell’s example?

A．Everybody can be an apple-polisher.

B．Cromwell was not a good apple-polisher.

C．George Fox and his party were not apple-polishers.

D．There are people who don’t like being apple-polished.

3.Which of the following statements about flattery is true according to the author?

A．Too much flattery can carry us away.

B．Flattery is too empty to do people any good.

C．Flattery can get you nothing but excessive(过度的) pride.

D．Flattery is one of the ways to apple-polish people.

4.Why did King Canute of Denmark and England take his followers to the seashore?

A．Because he was sick of his normal life.

B．Because he disliked being overpraised any more.

C．Because he wanted them to realize how wise he was.

D．Because he wanted them to see how weak he was as a king.

5.Who does the author think that flattery can do good to ?

A．Those who are politicians or in high offices.

B．Those who lack confidence.

C．Those who are really excellent.

D．Those who think highly of themselves.

“Get yourself up and make something of yourself，buddy！”Though my mother has passed away，her words are as clear in my head today as when I was a boy．

??? “Christ！”I said，“I have made something of myself. I want to sleep late as I like．”

??? “If there’s one thing I can’t stand，it’s a quitter．”Her voice in my head is more powerful than my will to refuse，so I pull myself from bed．

????? Before I was out of primary school，mother could see I lacked the gifts for either making millions or winning the love of crowds．So she began pushing me toward working with words．Words ran in her family．There seemed to be a word gene that passed down from her mother’s grandfather·

The greatest proof was my mother’s first cousin Edwin．He was the managing editor of the New York Times and had gained a name in his career．

??? In 1947 1 graduated from Johns Hopkins and applied for a job with the Baltimore Sun as a police reporter．It paid＄30 a week ．When I complained the wage was shameful for a learned man，mother refused to sympathize．“If you work hard at this job，”she said，“maybe you can make something of it．”

??? After a while，I was asked to cover diplomats（外交官）at various African embassies. Then，

seven years later I was arranged by the Sun to cover the White House，a task that was as close to heaven as a journalist could get．However，whatever achievement of mine only seemed insignificant in her eyes．Uncle Edwin’s success was really annoying during my early years as a reporter．What a thrill，I thought．

??? Then，out of my wildest childhood fantasy，the Times came knocking．It was sad that Uncle Edwin had passed away by this time．In 1979 I won the Pulitzer Prize．Unfortunately，my mother’s brain and health broke down the year before，leaving her in a nursing home，out of touch with life forevermore ．She never knew of my Pulitzer．

????? I can probably guess how she’d have responded．“ That’s nice，buddy．It shows if you work hand，you’11 be able to make something of yourself one day，”

1.The first three paragraphs are intended to＿＿＿＿＿＿

A．draw readers’attention to the author’s success

B．remind readers that the road to success is rough

C．serve as an introduction to the author’s mother

D．explain why the author’s mother kept blaming him

2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 probably means that tier families＿＿＿＿

A. were gifted at language? B．never broke their promise

C. were fond of reading ? D. stuck to their family belief

3.What can we learn about the author

A．He got a good salary working as a police reporter．

B．He lived a rich life with his mother in his childhood．

C．It was proud of her mother to see his winning the Pulitzer Prize．

D．It was beyond his wildest dream that he could work for the Times．

4.The author regards Uncle Edwin’s success as a thrill because＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A．he himself was less smart than Uncle Edwin

B．his mother’s family thought Uncle Edwin to be a good reporter

C．few reporters can become the managing editor of the New York Times

D．Uncle Edwin spared no effort to get the Pulitzer Prize at the cost of his life